“How would spirituality help a man of the world like me?” asked the businessman.
“It will help you have more,” said the Master.
“How?”
“By teaching you to desire less.”
Anthony de Mello
More at http://www.soulwise.net/
Anthony deAnthony de Mello (1931-1987) was an Indian Jesuit priest and psychotherapist. A spiritual teacher, writer and public speaker, De Mello wrote several books on spirituality and hosted numerous spiritual retreats and conferences. He continues to be known for his storytelling, which drew from the various mystical traditions of both East and West. In most of his stories, “The Master” is deliberately framed not as a single historical figure, but as a wise teacher, demonstrating how universal wisdom transcends religious boundaries.
Image: A postage stamp issued by Japan in 2002 depicts the head of the Buddha at Kofuku-ji Temple, the family temple of the Fujiwara, the most powerful aristocratic clan during much of the Nara and Heian Periods. The temple was established in Nara at the same time as the capital in 710. At the height of Fujiwara power, the temple consisted of over 150 buildings. Courtesy https://www.buddhiststamp.com/
Notes:
The Stoic formula for wealth: The Master’s principle directly mirrors famous Stoic maxims regarding financial independence. Seneca famously wrote, “If you wish to make Pythocles rich, do not add to his store of money, but subtract from his desires.” Epicurus similarly observed that natural wealth has fixed boundaries, whereas wealth dictated by unexamined cravings stretches into an infinite void.
The psychology of the hedonic treadmill: In modern behavioural economics, human tendency to continually adapt to higher income levels while craving even more is known as the hedonic treadmill. Reducing baseline desires resets this psychological cycle, turning current resources into a state of immediate surplus.
Diogenes of Sinope and the rejection of wealth: The spirit underlying this teaching mirrors the radical stance of the ancient Greek Cynic philosopher Diogenes, who lived in a clay jar and discarded his only cup after seeing a child drink water from cupped hands. Diogenes famously argued that true wealth lay not in multiplying possessions, but in reducing one’s needs until one was beholden to no emperor or market.
Non-attachment across traditions: In Eastern spiritual canons—such as the Tao Te Ching and Buddhist asceticism—holding wealth lightly is seen as a prerequisite for mental clarity. Accumulating treasures without inner mastery is viewed as building a gilded cage, reinforcing the principle that true riches cannot be locked in a chest.